Global computer aided detection market is expected to reach USD 1.9 billion by 2022, according to a new report by Grand View Research Inc. CAD software tools have been introduced to support radiologists to cope with the growing number of images requiring interpretation. Increasing incidence rate of breast, prostate and lung cancer, rising technological advancements, and increasing use of CAD with other imaging modalities such as ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging are expected to serve this industry as high-impact rendering drivers.

In the U.S., prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers amongst men and has increased the demand for multi-parametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MP-MRI) CADx systems for diagnosis and detection of prostate cancer.

In screening mammography, the traditional concept of double reading by the second clinician is expected to be replaced by CAD, of breast cancer completely. This is due to the additional reimbursement generated by computer-aided detection unlike the double readings that demand more of radiologists’ time without any reimbursement for the second read.

Wide research has been undertaken to come up with new findings establishing the relation of cancer with anatomy. For instance, Johns Hopkins researchers established the presence of dense clumps of bacteria in ascending colon to cancer.

CAD is most widely used for breast cancer imaging due to a higher incidence of cancer in women with morbidity of 14 million new cases and 8.2 deaths according to the WHO 2012. With the increasing demand for imaging and the growing rate of chronic diseases, the demand for imaging technologies is expected to increase. Computer aided detection is now used with other imaging modalities such as ultrasound, nuclear imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, etc.

In 2014, mammography dominated the industry as the prevalence of cancer is high and is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. According to the World Cancer Research Fund International 2012, North America and Oceania have the highest incidence rate of breast cancer and Asia and Africa has the lowest.

Digital imaging technique advancements are the other contributing factors for market growth as it has increased ease-of-integration of CAD solutions with imaging equipment and has also improved the efficiency of computer aided detection solutions.

Further key findings from the study suggest:

In 2014, mammography dominated the market due to the fact that it has high potential for breast cancer imaging and was one of the first segments in which companies developed CAD software and till date most of it is working on this indication.

According to the WHO data 2012, there were 14 million new cases of breast cancer. The increasing awareness has led increase in regular cancer check-ups as a preventive step.

The demand for CAD has grown in chest imaging such as low-dose lung cancer screening due to Multidetector Computed Tomography (MDCT) indications. Furthermore, CAD has been brought in use for established areas of chest CT such as diagnosis of interstitial lung disease and acute Pulmonary Embolism (PE).

CAD is also used with other imaging modalities such as x-ray, computed tomography, and ultrasound. Out of these, the use of CAD for x-ray imaging is the highest as it is the basic imaging and due to the recent advances overcoming its limitations of soft tissue imaging.

North America was the most revenue generating region of the market. The market contributed more than 40% of the revenue in 2014. Constant efforts to fuel the market with newer technologies and the use of computer aided detection for integrative diagnosis apart from image analysis are expected to drive regional market growth over the forecast period.

Asia Pacific and Europe are expected to spearhead future market growth due to the availability of cost-effective technologies and rise in medical tourism. UK cancer patients mostly treat themselves in Eastern Europe, Germany, France, and Spain as these nations specialize in cancer treatments, and as flights to these destinations are relatively cheaper and consume lesser time.